Thornton Township High School

Last updated

Thornton Township High School
Address
Thornton Township High School
15001 S. Broadway

Harvey
,
Cook County
,
Illinois
60426

United States
Coordinates 41°37′05″N87°38′36″W / 41.6181°N 87.6434°W / 41.6181; -87.6434
Information
School type Public high school
Opened1899
School district Thornton Twp. HS 205
SuperintendentNathaniel Cunningham Jr. [1]
PrincipalTony Ratliff [2]
Assistant PrincipalWanda Russell
Teaching staff137 (on a FTE basis) [3]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,793 (2020-21) [3]
Student to teacher ratio12.69 [3]
CampusSuburban
Color(s) Purple   and White   [4]
Athletics conference Southland Athletic Conference
MascotWildcat
Nickname Wildcats
Rival Bloom Township High School Kankakee High School
NewspaperPaw Prints
Communities servedHarvey, South Holland, Phoenix, Riverdale, Dixmoor, Markham, Blue Island [4]
Website School website

Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a public high school founded in 1899, located in Harvey, one of the south suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The school is one of three administered by Thornton Township High Schools District 205. It is occasionally confused with the two other similarly named schools in the district, Thornridge High School and Thornwood High School.

Contents

2019-2020 Thornton Varsity basketball team 2019-20 TTHS Varsity Team.png
2019-2020 Thornton Varsity basketball team

A predominantly African American and Latino high school, Thornton is perhaps best known for its many alumni who have been successful in both the performing arts and athletics. [5]

History

The site for Thornton Township High School was decided by a special election on May 28, 1898, where Harvey was selected over Dolton by a 1,504 to 1,123 vote, with the estimate of the school's cost being $40,000. [6] Oscar L. Murray was the architect of the building whose cost by October 1898 was $35,000, and was planned that included physical and biological laboratories, a library, gymnasium, a 280-seat assembly room, bicycle and lunch rooms. [7]

By May 1899, the plans had been firmed up to include a two-story structure with basement, with an interior to be finished in red oak. Heat would be provided by steam, with electric fans and an automated clock and signal system. The main floor assembly room was expanded to seat 700. Construction was set to begin in June, with completion in October. [8] The original building was located at 154th Street and Columbia Avenue. [9]

In 1913, Thornton was one of nine schools, and the only south suburban school, invited to found what became the Suburban League, which mostly consisted of schools like Thornton which had formerly been members of the Cook County High School League. [10]

In 1928, 16-year-old Betty Robinson (between her junior and senior years at the school) not only won the very first Olympic gold medal awarded to a woman in the 100 meters (at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam), but set a world record which stood for four years. [11]

During World War II, like many high schools, Thornton made changes to accommodate the war effort. Evening classes for adults started in 1942 to begin training people for necessary war jobs. [12] By 1943, the school was open for 87 hours each week, and had been converted almost exclusively to wartime training. [13]

Additions were made to the building in 1912 (costing $140,000), 1927 ($345,000) and 1937 ($300,000). [14] [15] A third floor was added in 1948. [16] In 1949, a new physical education facility was added, including a natatorium, wrestling rooms, locker facilities and class rooms for health classes, in addition to two gymnasia, one of which could seat 3,500 for basketball games. [17] [18] The new gymnasium was dedicated in April 1950. [19]

Athletics

Thornton's sports teams, which are referred to as the Wildcats, compete in the Southland Athletic Conference, though for many years competed in the now defunct South Inter-Conference Association (SICA). The teams also compete in state championship series sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The school colors are purple and white.

The school sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for boys and girls in basketball, soccer, track and field and cross country. Boys may also compete in baseball, American football, swimming and diving and wrestling. Girls may compete in cheerleading, softball and volleyball.

The following athletic teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament: [20]

Boys' basketball season-by-season record

SeasonClassTitlesPlaceWonLostTiedCoach/Win Percentage
1916-17DQ
1920-211110Rall Grigsby
Coach Total11101 yr   .524
1921-2240Harold Iddings
1922-2324Harold Iddings
1923-24213Harold Iddings
1924-25105Harold Iddings
1925-26D99Harold Iddings
1926-2748Harold Iddings
1927-28115Harold Iddings
1928-2975Harold Iddings
Coach Total39598 yrs   .398
1929-30D159Jack Lipe
1930-3196Jack Lipe
1931-3289Jack Lipe
1932-33DSQ1st243Jack Lipe
1933-34DSQ2nd352Jack Lipe
1934-35DSQ2nd285Jack Lipe
1935-36D912Jack Lipe
1936-37164Jack Lipe
1937-38126Jack Lipe
1938-39R144Jack Lipe
1939-40109Jack Lipe
1940-41162Jack Lipe
1941-42244Jack Lipe
1942-43166Jack Lipe
1943-44151Jack Lipe
1944-4579Jack Lipe
1945-46616Jack Lipe
1946-47413Jack Lipe
Coach Total26812018 yrs   .691
1947-48RSQ168Tom Nesbit
1948-49129Tom Nesbit
1949-50189Tom Nesbit
1950-51R225Tom Nesbit
1951-52RSQ254Tom Nesbit
1952-53179Tom Nesbit
1953-54RSQ257Tom Nesbit
1954-55R217Tom Nesbit
1955-561312Tom Nesbit
1956-57R197Tom Nesbit
Coach Total1887710 yr   .709
1957-58R226Bill Purden
1958-59RS273Bill Purden
1959-601413Bill Purden
1960-61RSUQ2nd273Bill Purden
1961-62RS198Bill Purden
1962-63159Bill Purden
1963-64R179Bill Purden
1964-65RSUQ4th283Bill Purden
Coach Total169548 yr   .758
1965-66RSUQ1st312Bob Anderson
1966-671510Bob Anderson
1967-68R253Bob Anderson
1968-69RS254Bob Anderson
Coach Total96194 yr   .835
1969-70R215Tom Hanrahan
1970-711013Tom Hanrahan
1971-72AAR207Tom Hanrahan
1972-73AAR1312Tom Hanrahan
1973-741410Tom Hanrahan
1974-75206Tom Hanrahan
1975-76178Tom Hanrahan
1976-77AAR245Tom Hanrahan
1977-78AAR272Tom Hanrahan
1978-79AAR208Tom Hanrahan
Coach Total1867610 yrs   .710
1979-801413Horace Howard
1980-811213Horace Howard
1981-82AAR208Horace Howard
Coach Total46343 yrs  .575
1982-83AARSUQ3rd303Sam Cameli
1983-84AARSUQ274Sam Cameli
1984-85AAR199Sam Cameli
1985-861115Sam Cameli
1986-87AAR217Sam Cameli
1987-88AAR226Sam Cameli
1988-89216Sam Cameli
1989-90234Sam Cameli
1990-91AAR208Sam Cameli
1991-921214Sam Cameli
1992-93AARS282Sam Cameli
1993-94169Sam Cameli
Coach Total2508712 yrs   .742
1994-95AARSUQ2nd302Rocky Hill
1995-96AARSUQ2nd311Rocky Hill
1996-97AARSUQ3rd321Rocky Hill
1997-98AAR1612Rocky Hill
1998-99AAR226Rocky Hill
1999-00AAR216Rocky Hill
2000-01519Rocky Hill
2001-021011Rocky Hill
2002-03AAR1513Rocky Hill
Coach Total182719 yrs   .719
2003-04AARS229Troy Jackson
2004-05AARSUQ293Troy Jackson
2005-06AAR208Troy Jackson
2006-07AARSUQ256Troy Jackson
2007-084AR217Troy Jackson
2008-094ARSUQ3rd302Troy Jackson
2009-104AR226Troy Jackson
2010-114AR263Troy Jackson
2011-124AR1316Troy Jackson
2012-131614Troy Jackson
2013-14206Troy Jackson
2014-15234Troy Jackson
Coach Total2678412 yrs   .761
2015-164AR254Tai Streets
2016-174AR236Tai Streets
2019-204ARTai Streets
Coach Total48102 yrs   .828
School Total W/L %175070197 yrs   .714

Activities

Thornton Township High School is known for its award-winning speech team. The following groups advanced to the State Finals competition, sponsored by the IHSA, and were crowned champions. [20]

Notable alumni

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References

  1. ↑ Thornton Township H.S. District 205 District Administration; accessed August 19, 2019
  2. ↑ Administration, Thornton H.S. homepage; accessed October 18, 2010 Archived July 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 "Thornton Township High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Thornton High School profile, ihsa.org; accessed November 24, 2008". Ihsa.org. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  5. ↑ Class of 2007 school report card, p. 1; accessed November 24, 2008 [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ Harvey Wins School Site, May 29, 1898, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 3; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  7. ↑ Trustees Oblige Supt. Andrews, October 22, 1898, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 5; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  8. ↑ Thornton Township High School, Harvey, Ill., May 28, 1899, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 10; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  9. ↑ Harvey School Bonds Sold, July 9, 1899, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 8; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  10. ↑ Preps To Form New League, May 24, 1913, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 14; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  11. ↑ Shirer, William, Chicago Girl Breaks World's 100 Meter Record, August 1, 1928, Chicago Daily Tribune; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  12. ↑ Thornton Night Classes Enroll 452 in War Study, September 6, 1942, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW3; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  13. ↑ Thornton High School Adapts Studies To War, February 28, 1943, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW2; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  14. ↑ Thornton High Asks $300,000 To Build Annex, September 27, 1936, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW2; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  15. ↑ Thornton Board To Rush School Addition Plans, February 7, 1937, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW2; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  16. ↑ Start Building Thornton Twp. High Addition, April 11, 1948, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW7; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  17. ↑ Tell details of Harvey's School Gym, December 5, 1948, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW 1; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  18. ↑ Thornton Twp High Gymnasium contract Let To Contractor, January 9, 1949, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW 11; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  19. ↑ Thornton High To Dedicate $350,000 Gym, April 30, 1950, Chicago Daily Tribune, p. SW 11; accessed ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849–1986); November 26, 2008
  20. 1 2 "Season summaries for Thornton Township HS, ihsa.org; accessed November 26, 2008". Ihsa.org. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Thornton Pride Stays With You". Suntimes.com. April 11, 2007. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Lloyd Batts stats and bio". Basketball-reference.com. May 9, 1951. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bell, Taylor (August 25, 2010). "Visiting the Boudreau Room". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 19, 2010. The curious thing about Thornton is that, despite the decades of tradition and legacy of great coaches and athletes ... any other athletic facility is named in honor of any of them...Lou Boudreau, Jack Lipe, Tiny Huddlestun, Betty Robinson ... There is a copy of Boudreau's plaque that hangs in baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and Betty Robinson's gold medal from the 1924 Olympics ... In May 2010, the school added a Thornton Wall of Fame in the main building that honors some of the great athletes and student leaders of the past—Boudreau, Robinson, comedian Tom Dreesen, actors Bill Hayes, Michael Boatman and Melvin Van Peebles, industrialist Dan Ustian and athletes Tai Streets, Melvin Ely, Napoleon Harris and Antwaan Randle El.[ permanent dead link ]
  24. ↑ "Hayes, Neil, 'Lou Boudreau: Let's play two'". Suntimes.com. November 23, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2011.[ dead link ]
  25. ↑ "1974 Thornton Township High School Yearbook (Harvey, Illinois)". Classmates.com. 1974. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  26. ↑ http://www.spotrac.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/melvin-ely/
  27. ↑ "Fruchter, Alexander, 'Hip To Be Square'". Soundslam.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Barry Gardner bio & stats". Databasefootball.com. December 13, 1976. Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Jack Golden stats and bio". Databasefootball.com. January 28, 1977. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  30. ↑ https://www.district205.net/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=763&dataid=5316&FileName=Board%20Powerpoint%203-14-18%20%20.pdf
  31. ↑ Tamm, Kirii (March 28, 1957). "Babe is Pleased Thornton Hasn't Forgotten Her Feats". The Thorntonite. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
    - Zabell, Martin (September 27, 1992). "Racing Back Through Time: First Female Gold Medalist Comes Home". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  32. ↑ "Obie-winning Actress Danitra Vance, 35", Chicago Tribune, August 23, 1994, retrieved November 19, 2010, Once described as a cross between Laurie Anderson and Little Richard, Ms. Vance appeared in feature films and in 1985 became the first black woman to join the regular cast of "Saturday Night Live," where she stayed for a year ... At Thornton High School, she auditioned for a play but failed to win a part. Nonetheless, she got up during the performance and acted anyway and became the star of the show ...
  33. ↑ About the Author. Editorial Review for Words From an Unchained Mind. ASIN   1564110141. Steven Whitehurst was born into a single-parent family in Chicago on March 3, 1967. After spending his early years living in housing projects on the city's southside, his family moved to Harvey, Illinois. In Harvey, Steven graduated from Thornton Township High School in 1984.CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link)
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